Focus on elderly people as groups share £1.4m in lottery funding

Focus on elderly people as groups share £1.4m in lottery funding

Community groups in Scotland will benefit from around £1.4 million of National Lottery funding as the list of recipients was announced.

Grants have been awarded to 16 community-run projects across the country, with a focus on assisting older people.

The National Lottery Community Fund was rebranded in January, having previously been known as the Big Lottery Fund.

It aims to help support ideas that can have an impact on people within their communities.

One of the recipients is Barrhead Men’s Shed SCIO, which offers opportunities for skills sharing and informal learning, with tools provided for working on different types of projects.

The project has been given £49,150, with a view to expand its activities so it can boost its membership from 50 to 80 people

Barrhead Men’s Shed SCIO treasurer Ross McKemmie said: “Thanks to the National Lottery, this award will give us greater sustainability, which allows us to reach further into our community and encourage more isolated men to come along to our shed.

“We have a great range of skills to pass on and our members get great satisfaction carrying out a range of services for the local community including children’s nurseries and care homes.

“Our members still have a lot to contribute and The Shed means a lot to them so it’s absolutely brilliant that we will be able to keep going well into the future and support even more people who need our help.”

An award of £120,000 was handed to The Hollies Day Care Centre in Musselburgh, East Lothian, a service for people over the age of 60.

The funding will help the centre add a daily lunch club, exercise classes and tea dances to the programme of activities already on offer.

Manager Liz Shannon said: “The difference the award from The National Lottery Community Fund will make to the members and customers of the Hollies is immeasurable.

“It will allow us not only to maintain existing services but to expand what we already offer to the elderly population of Musselburgh and the surrounding areas.

“We will now be able to provide a programme of entertaining and structured activities for the over 60s in a warm, safe and comfortable environment.

“This funding will help us to prevent social isolation and give them a place to meet friends and to make new ones.”

Maureen McGinn, National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland chairwoman, said: “Our name might have changed recently but our focus remains the same – funding projects which matter to people and communities.

“Feelings of isolation or loneliness are not just something that affect one particular age group or generation but can become more acute in later life.

“So I am delighted that some of this funding will go to projects supporting older people to engage with their local communities and also contribute to them using their skills and experience.”

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